Various compositions have been employed as a feed supplement for bees to increase the population of bee colonies. The formulas are fed to the bees in either a dry form or in a concentrated slurry in the vicinity of the hives. One such formulation is disclosed in an article entitled "Commercial Feeding" by Stanger and Gripp, American Bee Journal, Vol. 112:417-4 (November 1972) employing soybean flour, food wheast, and sugar syrup. Wheast is a yeast product derived from by-products in the manufacture of cottage cheese. Another formulation disclosed in the above article includes a minor portion of dry skim milk (2%) together with a major portion of sugar (90%). Further wheast-based feeds for honey bees are disclosed in an article entitled "Supplemental Feed of Honey Bees", by Stanger and Laidlaw, American Bee Journal, Vol. 114(4): 138-141 (April 1974). Such formulations comprise a major portion of sugar syrup together with feed wheast.
Another bee feed composition is disclosed in Feo et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,829, for maintenance of the strength of a bee colony. For this purpose, a grape pomace is added to the composition which also includes protein, carbohydrates, and fats as a lure or scent to make the food more acceptable to the bees. The composition is specifically stated to be emloyed as a substantially dry mixture.